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Title Is That a Fish?

A Reading A–Z Level I Leveled BookWord Count: 274

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Written by Susan Hartley

Is That a

Fish?LEVELED BOOK • I

Written by Susan Hartley

Is That a Fish?Level I Leveled Book© Learning A–ZWritten by Susan Hartley

All rights reserved.

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Photo Credits:Front cover: © iStock.com/barbaraaaa; back cover, pages 4 (e, j, m), 5 (c, n), 9 (bottom); 10 (all): © Marty Snyderman/Spirit/Corbis; pages 4 (b,f, i, k), 5 (d, g, i, o, bottom), 9 (top), 11 (all), 14 (all), 15 (all): © ArtToday; page 5 (h): © James Gritz/Photodisc/Getty Images; page 6: © Colin Parker/National Geographic My Shot/National Geographic Creative; page 7: © Photononstop/SuperStock; page 8: Dinodia Photos/Alamy; page 12: © iStock.com/Thomas Eckstadt; page 13: © A. Hartl/Blickwinkel/age fotostock

Cover: Leafy sea dragon

Back cover: Whale shark and divers

Title page: Dragon eel

Pages 4–5a Leafy sea dragonb Cownose rayc Commerson’s frogfishd Blacktip reef sharke Barracuda (center) and jacksf Flying gurnardg Clownfishh Porcupine fish or burrfishi Hawkfishj Yellowhead wrassek Anthias and damselfishl Trumpetfishm Scalloped hammerhead sharkn Goliath grouper with remorao Lionfish

Page 14a Trumpetfishb Red scorpionfishc Flying gurnardd Porcupine fish or burrfish

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Is That a

Fish?

CorrelationLEVEL I

I15–16

16

Fountas & PinnellReading Recovery

DRA

3 4

Table of Contents

What Are Fish? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

A Horse or a Fish? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

A Snake or a Fish? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Rays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Fish Out of Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Is That a Fish? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

What Are Fish?

What does a fish look like?

You might be surprised.

a

e

i

b

f

j

m

k

Is That a Fish? • Level I

5 6

Fish can be very big or very small.

This shark is the largest fish in the world.

Like other fish, it has a backbone.

It breathes through gills.

It has fins to help it swim.

c

g

l

d

h

n o

FinsTailEye

GillsMouth

A whale shark can be 15 m (50 ft) long. Its mouth can be 1.2 m (4 ft) wide!

Is That a Fish? • Level I

7 8

A Horse or a Fish?

Some fish look like other animals.

This fish is called a seahorse.

The fin on the back of the seahorse

beats very fast.

This is how the seahorse moves around.

A seahorse uses its tail to grab

onto plants in the water.

It can hide in the plants

where no hungry fish can find it.

Pectoral Fin

Tail Rings

SnoutDorsal Fin

Tail

Eye

Trunk Rings

This seahorse is called a leafy sea dragon.

Is That a Fish? • Level I

9 10

A Snake or a Fish?

This fish, called an eel, looks

a lot like a snake.

It swims by moving its whole body.

It can swim forward and backward.

It breathes by opening and closing

its mouth to pump water over its gills.

Rays

This large, flat fish is called a ray.

It has wing-like fins that help it glide

through the water.This is a moray eel. Moray eels can be as long as 3 m (10 ft).

Manta rays are the largest rays. They can be 6.7 m (22 ft) wide.

Is That a Fish? • Level I

11 12

Some rays have spines on their tails.

They use the spines to sting their prey.

Rays can hide on the bottom of the sea.

Fish Out of Water

This fish lives on mud flats.

When the tide goes out,

the fish can stay on the land

until the water comes back.

It breathes through its skin.

This fish is called a mudskipper.

Rays are gentle and curious.

Rays bury themselves in sand.

Is That a Fish? • Level I

13 14

This fish sometimes comes onto the

land to look for fresh water.

It wiggles its tail and props its body

up on its fins when it moves.

This makes it look like the fish

can walk.

Is That a Fish?

Fish can be many colors, sizes,

and shapes.

They can move in different ways.

a

cb

d

This fish is called a climbing perch. It can stay out of the water for a long time.

Is That a Fish? • Level I

15 16

What will you see the next time you

close your eyes and picture a fish?

Glossary

backbone a bone that goes along the back of an animal. It holds up the rest of the bones. (p. 6)

eel a long fish that looks like a snake (p. 9)

fins wing-like parts used for swimming (p. 6)

gills the breathing parts of a fish. They look like slits behind the fish’s head. (p. 6)

ray a wide, flat, shark-like fish (p. 10)

seahorse a fish that looks like a horse (p. 7)

Indexclimbing perch, 13

leafy sea dragon, 8

moray eel, 9

mudskipper, 12

ray, 10, 11

seahorse, 7, 8

shark, 6

Is That a Fish? • Level I